The Progeny Adjustment
by NerdForestGirl
Summary: This is a sequel to my stories The Cohabitation Experiment and The Proposal Reaction. Sheldon and Amy have been married for a year. Amy is ready for children, but Sheldon isn't as confident.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a sequel to my previous stories The Cohabitation Experiment and The Proposal Reaction. Sheldon and Amy have been married for a year at this point.**

* * *

No one would have expected how well suited to married life Sheldon Cooper was. Not even his wife. However, Sheldon was undeniably good at remembering to take out the trash and knowing that his wife hated pine nuts and even rubbing her feet when she had a particularly bad day in her lab.

Sheldon wasn't surprised. He excelled in many things. Loving Amy Farrah Fowler-Cooper was just another one of those. Still, despite his abilities, Sheldon was a little nervous about their one year wedding anniversary coming up. He wouldn't forget, obviously, but he was worried about doing it right. Amy deserved romance. Sheldon knew that. He was thinking about exactly what he should do at lunch one day.

"Isn't yours and Amy's anniversary coming up this weekend?" Leonard asked before taking a bite of his salad.

"Yes," Sheldon said with a sigh.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon just looked at him in disbelief. Of course Sheldon hadn't forgotten. It was the only thing he could think about.

"Right," Leonard said.

"I have made dinner reservations and Amy has expressed that she would like to stay home for the rest of the night. I'm assuming there will be intercourse involved. It just doesn't seem like enough," Sheldon said.

"Are you getting her a gift?" Raj asked.

"Yes. As soon as I can figure out what that gift will be," Sheldon said. "The traditional gift is paper. Maybe I can write her a letter," Sheldon told them. Then it clicked. "That's it," he added before he got up and walked away from the table where Leonard and Raj sat staring after him.

Sheldon called Penny and asked her about his idea. She loved his idea, and told him it was uncharacteristically romantic for the physicist to have come up with on his own. Sheldon disregarded the second part of this and set off to find what he needed to give Amy her anniversary gift. He hoped that he still had everything. He never would have thrown them out, but things happened. Sheldon was so excited that he took the bus home instead of waiting for Amy to come pick him up.

Sheldon looked through their personal files and he found what he was looking for. He was careful not to tear or wrinkle the pages as he took them to finish getting his gift together. The people at the shop promised it would be ready in time.

* * *

Amy was having similar concerns about what to get Sheldon for their wedding anniversary. She decided that she was going to need some help. She thought that her first stop should be the comic book store. Stuart was always more than willing to help her when she needed to understand something involving Sheldon and his preference for things fictional.

She pulled up in front of the store and went inside. It was empty except for Stuart.

"Hi, Stuart," Amy said.

"Hey, Amy. It's been a while. How's it going?" Stuart said back.

"Good. I'm looking for something for Sheldon for our anniversary. Do you have any suggestions?" Amy asked.

"That's a tough one. Sheldon tends to buy the stuff he wants rather than letting others buy it for him. I could help you out with the rest of the guys, but Sheldon either owns it or doesn't want it," Stuart said.

"That's what I was afraid of. You don't have any suggestions?"

"I'm sorry. I do have your new issue of _Thor_ in," Stuart said.

"Thanks, Stuart," Amy said as she paid for her comic book and left the store.

Amy decided that the train store would be a good place to try next. She suspected that Pete at the train store would tell her the same as Stuart, but it was worth a shot. It was becoming more worrying that she couldn't find anything for Sheldon.

Amy went into the train store, and found Pete behind the counter. She usually talked to him about his wife and kids while Sheldon wandered the aisles of the store looking for the perfect addition to his train set. Amy thought it was a little amusing that she was friendly with all of these proprietors because of Sheldon.

"Hey, Pete. How is the family?" Amy asked.

"Good, good. Where's your man?" Pete asked. Unlike the comic book store, Amy never went to the train store without Sheldon.

"Probably at home. I'm looking for something special to get him for our anniversary. Do you have any ideas?" Amy said.

"Not that I can think of. He was in here just yesterday and he spent two hundred dollars. I'm not sure there is anything left to get him that he didn't buy," Pete told her. Amy tried not to groan at the news that her husband was spending that kind of money on toys.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Amy said.

"Sorry, miss," Pete said.

Amy sighed, "It's okay. I'll just need to figure out something else for him. He's a hard man to shop for."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Pete," Amy said as she left the shop.

Amy decided to just go home for a while. She didn't know what else to try to find for Sheldon. She didn't want to just get him a gift. She wanted to get him the best gift. Still, she decided to go home for a while and do some research.

Turning on the computer, Amy made herself a cup of tea while she waited for it to boot up. Sheldon must have reorganized the tea alphabetically the day before because they had been rearranged. He was always changing the way the tea was arranged in the cabinet. He couldn't choose between alphabetically or by type. Amy could always tell if Sheldon was stressed because the tea would be arranged in a different way. It was an Earl Grey kind of day, so she also pulled out the milk and doctored the tea to her preferences.

It seemed like Amy would be unlikely to find an object that Sheldon would like. He had everything he wanted, so she tried to find him something they could do together instead. She scanned a calendar of events when she saw it.

Joss Whedon was holding a speaking engagement in the beginning of October in San Diego. It looked like it was nearly sold out, so Amy pulled out her phone to text Leonard and find out if Sheldon had tickets already. After a moment, she found out that he didn't.

Amy smiled at how perfect it was. She bought the tickets and then decided to check the train schedule. There was a train that was perfect to get them there and home, so she booked it too. The trip would require a hotel stay, so she decided to book that too. After another half an hour of research to find a decent hotel that she knew would meet with Sheldon's expectations, she had a room booked for them too.

"There. Sheldon Cooper, you are going to be blown away by this gift," Amy said to herself when she was done. She was also pleased by the idea of spending a whole weekend away with Sheldon. She printed out the itinerary and put it in an envelope ready to give him.

Sheldon came home over an hour later than normal. He found Amy watching television on the couch.

"Hey, babe. There you are. I was about to send out the search teams," Amy said with a smile.

"I'm not that late," Sheldon said.

"I was just kidding," Amy said. Even after a year of marriage he still didn't always get her jokes. She figured she should probably stop, but Amy had a hard time turning it off around Sheldon.

"Oh. Well, in more serious news, I have made dinner reservations for Saturday. Also, I believe I have figured out a gift to get you," Sheldon said as he took off his bag and sat down next to Amy in his spot.

"You don't have to get me anything," Amy told him.

"You're getting me something, right?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, yeah."

"Then I have to get you something," Sheldon said.

"I'm getting you a surprise, but I also got some new lingerie to wear for you," Amy said in her best "sexy" voice.

"You know I prefer it when you wear nothing," Sheldon said.

"You don't want a sexy wrapping?"

"Anything you wear is a sexy wrapping. I know what is under your clothes. It makes this sweater you are wearing sexy," Sheldon said simply. He always found his wife attractive.

"I guess I can return it," Amy said frustratedly. It wasn't like her sex life with Sheldon needed the help, but she wanted to feel pretty for him.

"I didn't say you should return it. I'd like to see it," Sheldon explained.

Amy wasn't surprised by his contradictory nature. Her husband tended to pretend not to care about her making the extra effort for him, but she knew he secretly liked it. "Oh, really? Do you want to see it now?" Amy asked.

"You said it was for Saturday," Sheldon said. He didn't notice that Amy was trying to seduce him, and just changed the channel on the TV.

"Sheldon, do you want to have sex with me or not?" Amy gave up on seduction and just asked him outright.

"Yes. I'd like that," Sheldon said as he looked over at Amy. She had already taken off her sweater, and she was smiling toothily at him. "Bedroom," Sheldon added before getting up. He wasn't worried about anyone walking in on them, but her always preferred to make love in the bedroom.

Amy got up and followed Sheldon into the bedroom. She sometimes wished he would be a bit more adventurous, but it had taken five years of them being together before he would even make love to her. She felt like she should be glad that he didn't restrict that days, times, or positions. He was even known to blow off a night of video games with the guys to stay in with her these days.

Even after a year, Amy knew that Sheldon would want to take a shower and change the sheets when they were done. It didn't bother her anymore. It was just a part of her physical relationship with her husband. She even found comfort in it now. Still, Amy wondered if Sheldon would ever be able to handle the messes that came with having children.

They hadn't spoken about it in a while, but Amy thought about having children with Sheldon often these days. They were just so happy that Amy was worried about bringing it up and causing tension between them. Still, she couldn't put it off forever. Amy sighed and tried to put it out of her mind for a little while.


	2. Chapter 2

Sheldon was in a suit for his anniversary dinner with Amy. His gift for her was wrapped, and he was ready for her to open it. It was too big to take to the restaurant with them, so he was going to give it to her before they left. If she ever finished getting ready. Sheldon was sitting on the couch staring at the door to the bathroom.

When Amy finally opened the door, Sheldon no longer cared about the wait. She was stunning. Sheldon smiled because she was also his. When she got closer to him, he held out the gift he'd been holding.

"It's too big to take with. You'll have to open it here," Sheldon told her.

Amy carefully unwrapped the paper and found a framed pair of documents. It only took her a moment to recognize them as the letters that they had written each other on their wedding day along with Sheldon's favorite photo from their wedding reception. It wasn't one of the staged photos, but rather one of Amy sitting on Sheldon's lap while he is smiling a genuine smile and she is placing a kiss on his cheek. It was one of Amy's favorites too.

"You kept the letters? I thought that they were lost in the chaos of the day," Amy said.

"I have every letter you've ever written me, and most of the ones I've written you. They are in my personal files," Sheldon said simply.

Amy's eyes started getting misty, and Sheldon got worried. "I knew I should had Penny help me pick something. You don't like it. I just wanted to pick something myself. I can get you something else," Sheldon said.

"We talked about this. Sometimes tears mean that I'm happy, and this is one of those times. You did a wonderful job," Amy said as she put her hand on Sheldon's chest. "I love it," she added with a smile.

Sheldon looked relieved. Amy pulled out the envelope from her purse and handed it to Sheldon. "I might as well give you this now," Amy told him.

Sheldon opened the envelope and looked at the contents. "I'm going to San Diego to see Joss Whedon speak? Plus, I get to go on a train? Plus, you are coming with me?" Sheldon asked with child-like enthusiasm.

"Yep," Amy said. She was glad that he liked it. She was a little worried that Sheldon would have rather take one of his friends instead of her, but he seemed happy to go together. Sheldon pulled Amy into a hug that pulled her feet off the ground.

"Let's get to dinner. I don't want them to give away our reservations," Sheldon said as he released her. Then he grabbed Amy's hand. Sheldon was getting better at touching the people around him, but Amy was still the easiest. Since the day they married, he liked touching her. However, she opened up his world. He accepted hugs from Penny without complaint. He even initiated a high five with Leonard the day before when they were playing video games at Leonard's house.

Sheldon and Amy had a lovely dinner out. The restaurant was one of their favorites, and it was the nicest on Sheldon's list of approved restaurants. They tried to save it for special occasions, but they still ended up there at least once a month.

Sheldon smiled when Amy finished her dessert and they were ready to go home. He stole a dessert flavored kiss before they got into her car to go home. The night had been nearly perfect, and he was ready for some alone time with his wife.

Then, as Amy was driving home, she started wandering through different neighborhoods. She'd taken to driving different ways back to their apartment because she liked to look at houses. Leonard and Penny had moved into a real house a few months before, so other than Rajesh, she and Sheldon were the only ones in their social group still living in an apartment.

"Where are we going?" Sheldon asked.

"I just like looking at the houses. Sometimes if I like how they look and they are for sale, I'll look them up when I get home," Amy told him. She'd never done this with him in the car before.

"Why?" Sheldon asked.

"I don't know. I'm trying to get an idea of what I like in a house. You know, for when we start looking for a house of our own," Amy said.

"Why would we look for a house of our own?" Sheldon asked. "Our apartment suits our needs just fine."

"Well, we will want more space when we have children. Maybe a yard to play in, a full kitchen, and a home office," Amy started listing off the things she found appealing about a house of their own.

Sheldon looked over at Amy. "Children? Are you pregnant?" Sheldon asked in a panicked voice.

"No. You know I'm on birth control," Amy told him. "However, I thought that we had discussed this and that we agreed with both wanted children one day."

It was the first time they spoken about children in a few months. She supposed the last time she had mentioned children of their own was when Bernadette had had Marcus six months earlier. She thought about them a lot, but she avoided speaking to Sheldon about them. She had never heard Sheldon panic over the idea like this before.

"Yeah, but we just got married. Now you are talking about children and moving into a house," Sheldon told her.

"Sheldon, we've been married for a year now. I think it's something we should talk about, but I didn't mean to scare you. I just like looking at houses. I like imagining where we might be in six month's or a year's time," Amy told him. She reached out for Sheldon's hand, and he took hers. She squeezed his briefly before putting it back on the wheel.

"I just didn't imagine that you would want all of this so soon," Sheldon said quietly.

"You don't imagine our future at all?" Amy asked.

"Well, I imagine us both winning Nobel Prizes," Sheldon said.

Amy sighed and decided to drop it for the time being. She was saddened by the panic in Sheldon's voice when he asked her if she was pregnant. She hoped that he had been secretly wanting children too. It was a silly hope to have, but Amy couldn't help it. It was still their anniversary, so she was trying to stay happy about it.

"I want that too," Amy added as she pulled in front of their building.

Amy ignored the feeling of worry that Sheldon was moving farther away from the idea of children. They went up to their apartment, and Amy changed into the new bra, panties, and thigh high stockings that she bought for the occasion before joining Sheldon in the living room. He had removed his tie and jacket and was flipping through television channels. Then when he caught sight of his wife, he dropped the remote on the floor and walked toward her without turning off the television.

"I thought you weren't interested in fancy lingerie," Amy said with a smirk.

"It's not often that I'm wrong, but I'll admit that I was wrong about that. Still, I think you might look better without it."

"Well, let's find out," Amy told him.

Then they went into their bedroom. Sheldon took her out of the small amount of clothes she had on before removing his own pants and shirt. Then he got into the drawer in his nightstand.

"Are you grabbing a condom?" Amy asked.

"Um. Yes," Sheldon said.

They almost never used condoms since Amy had started taking birth control pills just a couple of months after they had gotten married. Amy was very good about taking her pills everyday, so they didn't even have to use them because of a slip up.

"Why?" Amy asked.

"Um... I just...," Sheldon started, but he couldn't think of something to tell her.

"You're just doing what, Sheldon?" Amy asked. She didn't want to think what she was thinking, but he wasn't leaving a lot of other options in her head.

"I just wanted to make sure," Sheldon said.

"Do you think I'm going to trick you into having a baby?" Amy asked.

"No. I just wanted to have extra protection," Sheldon said.

She and Sheldon had researched birth control extensively when she first decided to start taking some sort of hormonal birth control. He knew the odds of failure, and had always been okay with them. They had never relied on anything else except for a couple weeks when Amy had been on antibiotics a few months before. Suddenly, he was worried it was going to fail? Amy reached into her purse by the side of the bed and pulled out the bubble pack of pills and threw it at Sheldon. "I took my pill today, and the fact that you think I would try to trick you makes me sick," she said before grabbing one of her long flannel nightgowns and walking out of their bedroom.

Sheldon pulled his robe around his body and went to find Amy after giving her a moment to get dressed. She was in the guest room and was getting ready to go to bed alone. "I didn't think you would do that. I would never believe you would do that. I was just thinking about the failure rates of birth control pills and even thought I know it's rare, I wanted to be extra protected. I promise."

"The idea of having a child with me is that repugnant to you?" Amy asked. She wanted to cry, but she was trying to be strong.

"No. Of course not. We would make the smartest and most beautiful children in the world. I just need more time," Sheldon pleaded.

"How much more time?" Amy asked.

"I don't know. We are in such a good place right now, and I don't want to jeopardize that by changing things," Sheldon said.

"Sheldon, babe," Amy said taking his hand. "Everything we have is because of change. Us meeting, us getting married, us living together, us having sex. These are all things you resisted, but eventually embraced. I know change is scary for you, but thinking about how many wonderful things that can come from change too."

"I'm scared. I've been thinking about children, but I want to be ready for it. I want to be ready to be a father in more than name only," Sheldon told her. Then he looked at his wife as she sat on the bed with the blankets pulled back. "I can understand if you don't want to sleep with me in both the literal and euphemistic sense, but kick me out of our bed. You can go back to our room," Sheldon said.

"I don't want to sleep without you, Sheldon," Amy finally said. She believed his reasons for reaching for the condom, so she forgave him. She could understand being scared by her bringing up the idea of children. She just wished that he wasn't.

She led him back into their room and she handed him his Saturday pajamas. She didn't really feel like having sex with him anymore. She wasn't really mad anymore, but she still felt a little hurt that he seemed to be so worried about it. Sheldon nodded and took the pajamas from her. They didn't fight often, and he wasn't used to it, but he didn't push her or ask anything from her. God knew she had been patient enough with him. "I'm sorry," Sheldon said.

"It's okay. I love you, and I wouldn't trade this year for anything. I am looking forward to many, many more of them," Amy told Sheldon when they were in bed.

"Me too," Sheldon said as he placed a kiss on Amy's forehead. Then he wrapped his arms around her and hoped he wouldn't ever have to let go.


	3. Chapter 3

Sheldon awoke early the next morning with his wife curled up to his side. Since it was Sunday, he normally would have stayed by her side until she woke up. Instead, he decided he needed to think. Sheldon got out of bed and left his wife alone in their bed. He showered and got dressed before leaving a note explaining that he had gone for a walk. Then Sheldon pulled on his jacket and made his way out into the morning air.

It was still a little chilly, but once he started walking, Sheldon warmed up. He didn't really know where he was going, but after twenty minutes, he found himself walking down one of the streets Amy had driven down the night before. The street was quiet, but still felt alive. For a moment, Sheldon see what Amy had meant about imagining where they might be in another year's time. He could almost see himself waking up in one of these houses next to his wife. He could even imagine spending time with his children. Showing them non-Newtonian fluid experiments with corn starch and water.

Then Sheldon remembered when he was a kid, and his father locked him out of the house for two hours for breaking the toaster. All he had done was take it apart and look at the inside. Sheldon knew he could have put it back together, but his father didn't give him the chance. Instead, he locked Sheldon out of the house and Sheldon didn't get an allowance for three months to pay for the new toaster.

Sheldon loved his father, even if he didn't always understand him. Still, it scared him that he would be like his own father. In the last few years, Sheldon started to believe that he was capable of being loving and understanding in a way that he hadn't known was possible before. Still, he wasn't sure if he was loving enough to raise children the way he wanted to.

Loving Amy wasn't a challenge anymore. Neither was loving Leonard or Penny or any of his other friends. They also made him much more willing to see things in a new way. Having friends and a wife that intelligent and thoughtful made him more open than any of the people he grew up with. Still, Sheldon wondered if it had made him open enough. Amy would be happy at first if they had children, but he knew she would resent him in time if he spent all of his time at work or at the bar because he couldn't face home. Well, Sheldon wouldn't be spending time at a bar, but maybe the comic book store.

He was scared that children, or more accurately, his reaction to children, would make them resent each other. He loved Amy so much that that idea terrified him. Sheldon was shaking with fear, and realized that he had been walking for nearly an hour. There was a park across the street from where Sheldon stood, so he crossed the street to sit on a park bench and get his barrings.

According to his GPS, Sheldon was only a few blocks from Leonard and Penny's house. He thought about walking over there and getting one of them to drive him home, but decided against it. They would likely ask why he had walked all the way to their house just to demand to be driven home. Instead, he called Amy.

"Hey, babe," Amy said when she picked up the phone.

"Can you come get me?" Sheldon asked.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I just walked too far in one direction. I am at a park a couple of blocks from Leonard and Penny's house," Sheldon explained. Then he told her the address, and she promised that she would be right there.

It was late enough morning that people were starting to appear on the street. Sheldon watched lots of moms and dads taking their kids out to play in front yards and the park he was sitting in. This street seemed much more alive than his apartment ever did. Sheldon tried his best to ignore the families around him. It was too much for the time being. Instead he focused on the house in front of him.

It was big, but not gaudy. It was mostly comprised of brown brick, and reminded him of his home growing up. There were a couple of cars in the driveway, and it was clearly taken well care of. The lawn was neatly mowed and the trees were trimmed. There were neat curtains in the windows and Sheldon could see into the living room. There were bookcases built into the walls, and he could see a few toys scattered about on the floor. What Amy had said the night before about imagining where they might be in six months or a year was playing in his mind when she stopped her car in front of him.

She got out of the car and walked over to him and sat down.

"So, what spurred you to go for a five mile walk this morning?" Amy asked as she sat down. She put her hand on Sheldon's knee, and he covered her hand with his own.

"I don't want to be like my father, Amy. He wasn't a bad man and I know that he loved me in his own way, but I don't want to be like him," Sheldon said. "What if our children aren't like me? Will I still be able to love them?"

"Of course you'll still love them," Amy said as she put her head on Sheldon's shoulder. "You have a tremendous capacity to love. I've seen it in you since the early days of our friendship. I know you like to think you are an intellectual who is above all of that, but you are so loyal and thoughtful. I think that you will be a great father if we ever do have children."

"If?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm not going to push you into something big like that. We need to be on the same page if we are going to bring children into this world. I don't want you resenting me because I made you become a father when you didn't want to. I'd rather have you in my life alone than have you become distant because we have children," Amy told him, but there were tears in her eyes. Sheldon knew these weren't the good kid of tears either.

Sheldon couldn't stand to see his wife cry, so he looked back at the house in front of him. "Compromise? We don't talk about the baby thing for a while. Six months? A year? We just continue being a happy married couple who aren't parents for a little while longer. However, we start looking for a house?"

"You want to move?" Amy asked.

"Well, I don't _want_ to move, but you made a good point last night. Plus it will take us a while to find something that we both like. It took me a long time to find that apartment," Sheldon said.

"How long could it have taken you? The elevator doesn't even work," Amy said.

"The elevator worked when I moved in. By the time Leonard broke it, I was already pretty committed to living here," Sheldon said.

"Leonard broke the elevator?" Amy asked. "Your best friend and former roommate? Little Leonard Hofstadter broke the elevator?"

"Oh, right. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about that. Oh well," Sheldon said with a shrug.

"You have to tell me now," Amy said.

Sheldon explained to Amy the whole story, and made it clear that he was the hero.

"Okay. I accept your compromise," Amy said when he was done with the story. They got into Amy's car and she started to drive away. Sheldon knew it was his imagination when he saw the front door of the brown house open and he saw himself holding a little girl while Amy followed him out. Even though the image scared him, he smiled. He knew there was an alternate universe out there where he was a wonderful and doting father, and maybe he could be that in this universe too.

* * *

After they were home again for a couple hours, they had to get ready to go have lunch at Leonard and Penny's house. Leonard was still pretty much the center of their social group, and his house was bigger than Sheldon and Amy's apartment. Most gatherings were no longer in Sheldon's home. Amy knew he missed just having everyone over, but he never made Amy go alone if he could help it.

Sheldon and Amy went into the house after they were let in by Penny, and everyone else was already there sitting in the living room. Bernadette had Marcus in her arms, and he was making happy baby noises at Howard next to him. Amy felt a pang in her chest at this, but she kept it to herself. Instead, she just sat on Bernadette's other side while Sheldon sat in his usual chair next to the couch.

Amy reached over to poke the little boy and was delighted when he giggled. Sheldon watched his wife interact with the baby, and was half charmed and half terrified by it. He hoped something else would come along to distract her from playing with the baby.

That was until he got his wish. "We have an announcement," Penny started.

"We're going to have a baby," Leonard interjected.

"You said I could tell them," Penny said as she hit her husband on the arm.

"Sorry. We're both really excited," Leonard said to the group.


	4. Chapter 4

Amy reached for Sheldon's hand. He was always her source of strength when she couldn't always summon it herself. He squeezed her hand in return before she vocalized her pleasure at the news of Penny's pregnancy. Of course she was genuinely happy for her friends. It was just bad timing in her own life. She was berating herself for driving through that neighborhood the night before. Before last night she could have pretended that Sheldon wanted a baby as much as she did. She could have pretended that they just hadn't gotten around to talking about it yet.

"I've already talked to the writers, and they are going to write my pregnancy into the show," Penny explained about her job. "My character has already been having an affair with that married doctor, so they think it will add the right amount of drama or something."

Amy smiled and nodded along while her friends spoke of their futures. She wished she could escape, but they had just gotten there. Amy felt Sheldon squeeze her fingers again before he spoke.

"Amy, that headache is coming back. Will you take me home?" Sheldon asked.

Amy didn't know what he was talking about. He hadn't been complaining of a headache before they had left. In fact, Amy couldn't remember the last time he had a headache.

"Please, kid? I know that you want to stay here and talk about baby things, but I'm really not feeling well," Sheldon whined at her. Amy didn't know what was getting into him, but she nodded.

"Sounds like Amy has a fun day ahead. At least I don't have to take care of him anymore," Leonard said with a small laugh.

Amy and Sheldon both hugged Penny and offered their congratulations before leaving. Once they were in the car Amy turned to Sheldon, "Why did you make us leave?" She was pretty sure he had been lying about the headache, but he lied so rarely that she was having trouble knowing for sure.

"I couldn't see the hurt in your eyes anymore," Sheldon said.

"I'm happy for them. I really am."

"I know you are, but you were sad for yourself. They know you are happy for them, but I could see it. I know you better than anyone, and I can see it. I know that I'm the cause of it, so that made it even worse. I just need more time."

"You always need more time, Sheldon," Amy snapped.

"And you always get me exactly where you want me if you give me that time," Sheldon said back. "I am trying, Amy. You never give me enough credit for trying."

Amy was still annoyed, but he had a point. The fact that they were married and even talking about children was some sort of miracle. She just ignored him, and started driving home. Then, when Sheldon got out of the car at their apartment building, she drove off again. She started wandering the streets again until she had properly cooled down. Then she drove home.

Sheldon was just sitting on the curb waiting for her when she got home twenty minutes later. "Why didn't you go upstairs?" Amy asked when she got out of the car.

Sheldon just shrugged. Amy took his hand and said, "You are trying, and you are doing a wonderful job. Thank you trying to compromise with me."

Sheldon nodded, so Amy smiled at him. "Have you put any thought into what you want in a house?" Amy asked.

"I have. I think that we should try to find one with at least four bedrooms. I've enjoyed having a guest room for the last couple years. It's made things much easier when friends and family come to visit," Sheldon started.

"Four bedrooms? One for you and me, one guest room, and two rooms for the thing we aren't going to talk about?" Amy asked. She was filled with a new kind of excitement. He was taking this all seriously, and she was thrilled.

Sheldon nodded before continuing, "I also think that there should be workspace for both of us. I don't know how much of your work you can do from home, but I've always dreamed of having a home office," Sheldon said. Then as they walked up the stairs, Amy heard a pretty long list of features that Sheldon wanted in a house.

"I can see why this going to take a while. You have quite the list of demands. Have you only been thinking about this morning?" Amy asked when he was done.

"This morning, last night, since I met you. It doesn't really matter how long I've been thinking about it," Sheldon said flippantly.

"Are you joking?" Amy asked.

"No," Sheldon said.

"You are so silly. I love you," Amy said, and she meant it. She got on her toes to give her husband a kiss. She would wait for him because he was right; she always got him where she wanted him if given enough time.

"I love you, too, but this is serious business," Sheldon said.

"I know it is. I'm going to give you a list of the neighborhoods nearby that I like, and let you go to town on the research," Amy told him.

* * *

Sheldon looked up all of the neighborhoods that Amy had suggested. He rejected two of them just based on the name. Another one because he did not like the ascetics. Plus two more because the schools were not up to his standard. That left three neighborhoods that he and Amy agreed on. One of them was relatively close to Leonard and Penny which both Sheldon and Amy liked. They decided to check that one first.

That Saturday, they set off to check out all of the open houses in the area. Sheldon wasn't sure he liked any of the houses that were for sale, but he'd never searched for a house before. He thought it might require some practice.

Amy parked in front of the first house on Sheldon's list. They didn't even get out of the car before Sheldon said, "Nope."

"What's wrong with it?" Amy asked.

"I don't like it. The windows are too low to the ground. Someone could break in easily," Sheldon said.

Amy just started the car again and followed Sheldon's directions to the next house on his list. Sheldon was at least willing to go into this one, but he insisted that they leave after a quick trip around the main floor. It was the same at the next two. On the way, they drove past the park where Sheldon found himself the week before. He looked at the brown house as they passed, but this time he didn't see any more visions of their future. After that, Amy wanted a break and they were just down the street from Leonard and Penny's so she decided to stop by.

"They aren't going to be okay with us just dropping by," Sheldon said.

"That's why I texted them while we were at that last house. They said it was okay for us to come by," Amy told him.

"Are you sure you want to go back over there after last time?" Sheldon asked.

"Yeah. It isn't the kind of thing we can avoid forever. It's not like it's going away. She's going to be pregnant and then she is going to have the baby. We can't stop being friends with them over it," Amy said. Then she caught the look of worry on Sheldon's face. She wasn't sure if it was for her or himself. She was serious about taking him up on his compromise, and other than talking about bedrooms for children during the house planning, she was fully intending on letting the children thing go for a while.

"If you are sure," Sheldon said.

"I am. It'll be okay, and I will keep our deal," Amy assured him.

Sheldon just nodded before getting out of Amy's car again. They walked up to the door and were welcomed into their friends' home.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Penny said as she saw them come in.

"We were just in the neighborhood, and I really needed a break," Amy said.

"From what?" Penny asked. Then Amy looked at Sheldon. She didn't know if they were supposed to be telling everyone they were looking for a house.

"House hunting," Sheldon said with a sigh.

"Oh, you guys are looking for a house?" Penny asked excitedly. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"We just started. I suspect that it will be a while until we can find something that we both like," Amy admitted.

"Still, it's a big step. Congratulations, guys," Leonard said. He knew that any kind of change was hard for Sheldon. At least his friend didn't shut down every time something big happened anymore. Leonard supposed that was Amy's doing.

"Yes. We're all becoming adults," Amy said with a laugh.

"I know. Scary, right?" Penny said. "Houses and families for everyone."

Sheldon put his hand on Amy's shoulder and squeezed. "Well, Sheldon and I aren't ready for that yet, but at least I think we'll still beat Rajesh," Amy said. Sheldon smiled at her before leaving with Leonard to go play some video games. He was relieved that she didn't sell him out as not being ready for children.

"Are you guys looking around here? We could be neighbors again," Penny said with a smile.

"That would be nice, or I'm going to insist that Sheldon start driving. It was one thing when he could walk to go play with his friends or Leonard was willing to drive him a few places. Now, you guys are going to even busier. You can't leave me alone with my husband that much," Amy said jokingly.

Amy took a deep breath and asked about Penny's pregnancy since she and Sheldon had left before they got much information last time. She found out that Penny was three months along, that her parents were pleased, Leonard's parents were rather apathetic, and that Leonard was already a mess about it.

"I know Leonard is going to be a good dad. He might not take our kid to a lot of sporting events or whatever, but you know he's going to win the science fair every year. I'll take him to football games. Leonard can take him to museums," Penny said with a smile.

"Are you going to have a boy?" Amy asked.

"Oh. We don't know yet. That's still a couple months out. I've just taken to calling him a boy until we know. I feel like he's a boy. A psychic once told me that my first child is going to be a boy. I think Leonard wants a girl, but we are both okay either way."

Amy smiled at her friend. She was out of questions to ask, and she didn't know what else to say. It was going to be hard work to always stay happy for her friend. Of course, Amy really was happy for Penny and Leonard, but it was hard not to feel a little jealous of what they had. It had actually been a long time since Amy had been jealous of Penny and Leonard. There was nothing left to be jealous of. Sheldon was handsome, a genius, and a very skilled lover. He was usually open with Amy even if he couldn't quite manage it with others. Amy could have never settled for anyone less than Sheldon. Penny finally changed the subject and started talking about work and her new storylines. Amy smiled and enthusiastically listened.

* * *

"Sheldon, I'm terrified for that kid. What if I raise my kid like my mother raised me?" Leonard said as he booted up the Xbox.

"Your mother is a brilliant and revered scientist. Why wouldn't you want to have children raised by someone like that?" Sheldon asked.

"My mother loves everyone, including you, much more than she loves me, and she's never made a secret of that. I want to love my kid."

Sheldon started laughing. "Leonard, there are a lot of things that you are bad at, but your ability to love is not one of them. I have watched you be in love with your wife for a decade without giving up even after she broke up with you a couple of times. You are going to love your kid, and you are going to smother him or her with that love." Sheldon didn't admit that he was having similar concerns. Leonard was always more affectionate that Sheldon ever had been. Sheldon wasn't worried in the slightest that his friend would be a good dad.

That weirdly made Leonard feel better. He supposed that Sheldon had a bit of a point. "Thanks," Leonard said.

"Okay," Sheldon said. Then they didn't talk about kids anymore because they were too focused on killing zombies.

After a few rounds Sheldon said, "I should probably go. We have three more houses to look at today."

"You are pretty serious about this house hunting thing?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah. We are. I love that apartment, but we both agree that we'll need more space eventually. How soon we'll need that space is still up for debate, but we might as well start looking."

"Yeah. It takes a while. Can you come with me to the kitchen before you guys take off? Penny and I have something to ask you and Amy."

Sheldon followed Leonard back to the kitchen where the girls were still talking. "These two have some more houses to look at this afternoon. Do you want to ask them before they go?" Leonard asked Penny.

"Yeah. We were wondering if you would be the baby's godparents?" Penny asked.

"Us? Do we have to do anything?" Sheldon asked.

Amy elbowed Sheldon. "We'd be honored," she told them, and Sheldon nodded.

"Seriously, though. Can you give me a list of rights and responsibilities that go along with this role?" Sheldon asked.

"Yeah. We'll get on that. Good luck looking at houses," Leonard said as Amy started to stand up to go.

"Congratulations again," Amy said as she gave Penny a hug.

"Thanks," Penny said.

Then Amy and Sheldon were off to look at the other houses. They both kind of liked the next one that they looked at, but it only had three bedrooms. The other two were quickly crossed off because some reason or another.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, I'm not saying that we should compromise on our dreams, but this might be harder than I thought," Amy said. All of her dreams of her house had been theoretical up to that point, but seeing what all of these houses were like made it real. It was looking like it was going to be quite the challenge.

"I told you," Sheldon said.

"I know. I don't know if I can put that much work into finding a house every weekend. It's our main alone time and it's almost the only time we see our friends outside of work these days. Maybe we can cut it down some?" Amy asked.

"I agree. Today would have been long even without stopping at Leonard and Penny's," Sheldon said. Then he took Amy's feet into his lap and started rubbing them while they started to watch the new episode of _Doctor Who_. "We are going to have to come up with a new game plan."

That's exactly what they did. Over the next few weeks, Sheldon would do research and they would only visit three or four open houses a week. They still weren't having any luck finding anything they really liked. The whole process was more frustrating than either of them realized it would be. It wasn't uncommon for them to come home grumpy from a day of looking at unsatisfactory houses. Amy tried not to take it out on Sheldon, but it happened once or twice anyway.

On their fourth weekend of looking, Sheldon and Amy got home and she just wanted to take a bath, but Sheldon demanded bathroom time first. "This is ridiculous. You can't schedule everything. Are you going to start scheduling sex with me next?" Amy snapped at him as he walked into the bathroom. Then she paced in front of the door for several minutes before just opening it and walking in.

"Amy, you can't just walk in here," Sheldon said as he was washing his hands.

"I want to see you try and stop me," Amy said. "Besides, it's not like it's anything I haven't seen before. Now, how about you get out so I can take a bath."

"No. If you are going to intrude on my bathroom time, then I'll intrude on yours," he said as he leaned against the sink and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Whatever," Amy said. Then she turned on the water and started stripping off her clothes.

"Maybe I can join you?" Sheldon asked when she was nearly naked.

"Yeah? Haven't you told me that this tub is too small for more than one person?" Amy asked.

"I said the same thing about my bed before you started sleeping in it too," Sheldon replied. Both of their attitudes had softened, and Sheldon started taking off his clothes. He got into the tub first so that Amy could lean against him as they relaxed. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they managed it. It was also the start of a new habit of a bath to relax together after house hunting.

There was no house hunting the next weekend. Instead Amy and Sheldon enjoyed the weekend away in San Diego. It was nice break from the stresses of real life. They watched Joss Whedon's presentation, and Sheldon got an autograph. Amy narrowly managed to get Sheldon out of there without another restraining order to add to his list. They also had a nice dinner together. Later, in the hotel room, Sheldon decided that they should have a king sized bed in the new house.

"You don't like our little bed at home?" Amy asked.

"It's fine. I just like how big this bed is. My feet don't hang off the edge, and I'm not worried about falling out of it. You are still permitted to sleep right next to me even if we have a bigger bed," he informed her.

Amy smiled and said, "I better." They were both particular about the house that they wanted, and it wasn't looking any better. Still, she would rather have the house of her dreams than settle.

* * *

During the next couple months they kept looking, and Amy was true to her word and didn't bring up the topic of their own children. She was even careful about the mentions of Penny's pregnancy. However, Amy and Sheldon's deal did not hold up to their parents. Amy heard from her mother on a regular basis about how Amy wasn't getting any younger and that it wasn't fair that Mrs. Fowler was going to die without grandchildren.

Sheldon had stopped calling his own mother because Mary was almost relentless about it.

"Mother, Missy lives in Texas and has given you grandchildren. Isn't that enough?" Sheldon asked his mother when she called about a month and a half into the house hunting.

"Of course I love Missy's children. I love them so much that I think they should get some little cousins. Wouldn't that be wonderful, Shelly?"

"Maybe you should talk to Junior about that."

"Junior hasn't been married for more than a year without even giving me a hint about grandchildren."

"Amy and I have spoken about it, and we are not there yet, Mother. We are both still interested in children, but I need more time," Sheldon said.

"You need more time? So that lovely wife of yours wants children?" Mary asked just as Amy came into the apartment. He mouthed "my mother," in explanation. Amy walked over to Sheldon and gave him a quick kiss before leaving him alone with his call. He was glad that she was giving him some privacy.

"Yes. I'm the problem here. Amy's being understanding, so I wish you would be too. We're looking for a house, we're doing well in our careers, and that's enough for us right now," Sheldon said. His tone had become sad. He hated being hounded by anyone, including his mother, about it.

"Shelly, why don't you want to have babies with Amy?"

"I told you. Amy isn't the problem. I am. I'm always the problem," Sheldon said angrily. The stress of it was weighing on his mind a lot. Amy came back out from the back of the apartment. His raised voice alarmed her and she walked over to him and took the phone from his hand.

"Mary? I've told my mother this, and I'm going to tell you this. This is my and Sheldon's decision. We aren't going to be moved by your pleas. If we ever have children, it will because we decided that we are ready for it. Sheldon and I. No one else. Now, talk to your son," Amy said as she handed the phone back to Sheldon.

"Mom?" Sheldon asked.

"I knew I liked that girl. You picked a good one, Shelly," Mary said.

"I always thought so," Sheldon agreed.

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. I'll let it go if you promise to start calling me again," Mary said.

"Okay. I promise," Sheldon said.

"Goodnight, Shelly. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom. Have a good night," Sheldon told his mother before hanging up the phone.

"How much does she hate me?" Amy asked when she appeared again a few minutes later.

"She loves you. She said that she's always liked you, and that I picked a good one," Sheldon told her with a smile.

"She did not," Amy said in disbelief. Amy was sure that Sheldon's mother would have it out for her after she spoke to her like that.

"She absolutely did. You can call her back and ask her if you'd like," Sheldon said holding out his phone.

"No. I'm okay not calling her back," Amy said. She still thought it was curious, but she believed Sheldon.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Sheldon said.

"My pleasure, but there is no fault here. I might get frustrated with the situation, and I might get frustrated with you, but nothing is your fault," Amy told him as she put her hands on the sides of his face.

"But..." Sheldon started.

"No," Amy said. "We are in this together. We make these decisions together. Now, I suggest we go to bed together."

"But our normal bedtime isn't for another hour," Sheldon started. "Oh. Never mind. I agree," he added after a moment. He still did better with direct statements, but Sheldon was getting better at understanding Amy's hints.

* * *

The next day Amy called Penny as soon as she got home from work. "How did it go? Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Amy asked excitedly. She was over her initial hurt about Penny's pregnancy. She still had bad days, but that day wasn't one of them.

"He's a boy," Penny said excitedly.

"A little boy?" Amy squeaked.

"Yeah. I'll send you the photos. He looked so tiny and perfect already," Penny said.

"You're having a little boy," Amy said again.

"We're having a little boy," Penny repeated. "Let that husband of yours know for us, okay?"

"Yeah. We'll have to start talking baby shower soon. I have ideas."

"Nothing too weird. Promise?"

"Ugh. Fine. You shoot down all of my best ideas," Amy said.

Penny laughed, and they hung up. Amy went to find Sheldon in their room. "Hey, babe. I just talked to Penny. They're going to have a boy. Isn't that amazing?"

"Well, I wouldn't say amazing. Statistically, the odds do learn toward female offspring, but it was still about 50/50."

"Our best friends are going to have a baby. That's pretty amazing," Amy said. Then she took the comic book from Sheldon's hands and wormed her way into his arms. He smiled that she was still always looking for a chance to steal some affection from him even after a year of marriage and six years together.

"Our children will be amazing, but I will grant you that Leonard and Penny will probably produce reasonably intelligent and attractive offspring," Sheldon said as he wrapped his arms around her. Then he realized what he said and stopped moving.

"It's okay. Casual mentions aren't planning. House first," Amy reminded him.

However, Sheldon could see it, even if just for a moment. Their child playing with Leonard and Penny's little boy. Still, they were nearly three months into their compromise. They still hadn't found a house they liked enough to give any real thought to. Out of the nearly fifty houses they had looked at only a couple had even generated a real discussion.


	6. Chapter 6

It was Friday evening and Amy was driving to Leonard and Penny's with Sheldon. They were talking about taking a break from the house hunting that weekend. After three months of research and open houses, they both getting burned out on it.

As they drove by the brown house by the park, Sheldon looked up out of habit. He liked keeping tabs on it.

"Amy, stop the car!" Sheldon said.

"Are you okay?"

"Just stop the car!"

Amy pulled the car over and Sheldon jumped out. She got out and followed him. By the time Amy caught up to Sheldon, he was arguing with a woman in the front yard of the brown house.

"I'm sorry, sir. The first open house is in two weeks. The owners aren't even ready to allow a private showing yet. They are just putting it on the market today," the woman told Sheldon. Amy saw the "For Sale" sign behind the realtor.

Amy didn't know why Sheldon wanted to see this house so badly, but it was easily the most enthusiastic he had been about a house so far. "Can you at least go ask them?" Amy asked.

"I suppose I can ask, but they will probably say no," the realtor said.

Sheldon and Amy waited while she went back inside. "This is it, Amy. This is our home. We can't let anyone else get it," Sheldon said.

The realtor appeared at the door and told them it was okay to come in. Sheldon took Amy's hand and they went inside. There was a couple a few years older than Sheldon and Amy and three little boys sitting at a table.

"I'm sorry that we are interrupting your dinner. We've been looking at a lot of houses. I think it's been getting to my husband," Amy explained.

"No problem. We're pleased to get attention already. I've been offered a teaching position at Harvard, so that means that we need to relocate soon. We love this house though," the woman said.

"Oh. I went to Harvard," Amy said.

"It's a great school," the woman said. "I'm Katherine. How about I show you around, Mr. and Mrs.?"

"Dr. Cooper and Dr. Fowler-Cooper," Sheldon said.

"Look at them, honey. They are just like us ten years ago," Katherine said to her husband. "You two are just adorable," she added to Sheldon and Amy.

Then Katherine started showing them the house. It was very open on the main floor. There was a big kitchen and a laundry room and plenty of living space. Then she took them upstairs to look at the bedrooms. There were four rooms upstairs including a master bedroom that was big enough for a king sized bed.

"Sorry about the boys' rooms. They weren't expecting anyone to see their rooms," Katherine said as she showed Sheldon and Amy three adorably messy bedrooms. "Do you have any kids?"

"Not yet. We wanted to have a little more space. Our apartment isn't exactly too small for a baby, but we don't even have a full kitchen," Sheldon explained. Amy looked at him while he explained why they didn't have kids. Some days he even looked a little excited about it.

"Yeah. For tiny people, they need a lot of space. Now, this house has a basement, which is not very common for the area. We'll go down there now, but I want to warn you. My husband is a veterinarian, so that's why there are cages and lab equipment down there. We aren't running any strange experiments down here," Katherine said.

They went down to find a small lab area set up. "We were going to rip all of this out before the open house. The realtor said it is a bit unsettling, so I'm sorry that you have to see it."

"Sheldon, this is perfect," Amy said when they saw it. The cages were built into the walls, and there was a lot of counter space. She could see that it might be exactly what she would need if she wanted to work from home. Well, with a few alterations, but still very close.

"It is?" Katherine asked.

"I'm a neurobiologist. I don't know how much work I would be able to do from home, but this just about everything I would need to do it," Amy explained.

"Oh," Katherine said with a smile. "Well, my office is just across the hall here. It's much more subdued. Just some whiteboards on the walls," she added as she showed them the space. "There's some storage space down here, but that's about it."

Amy looked at Sheldon. He was right. The house was absolutely perfect. She wondered how he knew it would have everything they were looking for. Amy's phone beeped to alert her of a new text message. She checked it and realized that she had never called the guys to let them know they were going to be late. She texted Penny back.

Sheldon and I got caught up looking at a house. I don't know when we'll be by. I'll call when we're done. - A

Then they went upstairs to the main level. The realtor was sitting with the husband whose name neither Amy nor Sheldon had caught yet. The boys were off playing somewhere in the house. Amy could hear them arguing over one thing or another, and she smiled.

"We want to buy your house," Sheldon said. He had a feeling that they were never going to be able to afford it, but the house was so perfect for them that they had to ask.

Some numbers were thrown out and Amy's heart sank. "That's about $50,000 more than our budget," she said quietly.

"We can raise our budget some, but we can't go that high. There's just no way that we can make more than that work," Sheldon added. "We've taken up enough of your time tonight. Thank you for indulging us." Then he and Amy got up to leave.

"Dr. Cooper? Leave your card. We will at least give it some thought," Katherine said.

Sheldon pulled a business card from his wallet, and handed it over. "Thanks," he said. Then there was a round of hand shaking, and they left.

Amy called Penny and explained that they were on the way. When they got there, everyone else was done eating, but they were still hanging out. Amy heated up her and Sheldon's food in the microwave.

"So, tell us about this house," Penny said enthusiastically.

"It was perfect. Four bedrooms, a beautiful back yard, a nice kitchen. It even had a mini lab in the basement," Amy gushed. "It's too expensive though."

Sheldon wanted to give Amy anything she wanted, but he had no idea how he could give her this house. He'd somehow always known that it was the perfect house for them. He hated that it was another thing that he couldn't give her.

"That does sound perfect. Why does it have a mini lab?" Penny asked.

"The husband is a veterinarian. They might rip it all out if they can't sell the house with it," Amy told her.

"Wow," Penny said. "If they can just bring the price down, they won't have to go to all that work. You said they would think about it. Maybe they'll surprise you."

"I don't know. It's a lot of money to come down on for us to be able to afford it. It was so great, just like Sheldon knew it would be," Amy said as she looked over at him. "How did you know?"

"I just had a feeling. I've liked that house for months. Not that I believe in fate or anything, but I thought it was remarkable timing that it was going up for sale while we were looking."

Marcus started crying, so Howard got up to take him home. "If you can find someone to take you home, you can stay," Howard told Bernadette. "You had a long day at work."

"No. I'll come with. I want to spend more time with my boys," Bernadette said. Then she got up and went over to Penny to give her a hug. "Congrats again on the news that he's a boy," she said as she put her hand on Penny's stomach. Then Bernadette went to hug Amy. "And good luck to you on the house. I'm sure it will work out one way or another."

"Thanks," Amy said as she sat back down. She wasn't so sure. It was a lot of money. Still, maybe she and Sheldon would find a different house that would suit their needs.

Instead of looking at houses that weekend, Sheldon and Amy just relaxed at home and out with their friends. It seemed more important to take a break after seeing that house, and realizing that they needed to reevaluate their priorities. They couldn't have everything they wanted for their budget. It was just that simple.

In fact the whole thing left them sort of apathetic toward the house hunt for a couple weeks. They checked out a couple open houses over the next couple weeks, but nothing really stood out. Sheldon looked longingly at the brown house each time they drove by, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. He was starting to feel helpless in his life. Maybe there was something he could give Amy even if he couldn't give her the home of their dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

The next week, Sheldon and Amy were getting ready to go look at more houses. Neither of them really felt up to it, but they still felt it needed to be done. The phone started ringing before they got out the door, so Amy ran back to answer it.

"Hello," Amy said as she answered it.

"Hey, Amy. It's Howard. I was wondering if you would be willing to watch Marcus? I hate to impose, but Bernie is at a work conference this weekend, Leonard, Penny, and Raj are busy, and my mom's had a bit of an accident."

"Is she okay?" Amy asked with concern.

"Yeah. She'll be fine. She tripped, and it's probably just a sprained wrist. It's pretty amazing actually considering the amount of weight she caught with that hand. She's already at the hospital, but I should probably go be with her. Do you think you can watch Marcus?" Howard asked.

"Yeah. I think we can do that. Do we need to pick him up?" Amy asked. Sheldon looked over at her and walked back into the apartment.

"I'll drop him off on my way to the hospital. Thank you so much," Howard said.

"No problem. We'll see you in a little bit," Amy said. Then she hung up the phone.

"It was Howard. He needs someone to watch Marcus," Amy told Sheldon. "I told him we could do it. I'm not sure I really felt up to looking at more stranger's homes today anyway," Amy added with a sigh.

"Me either," Sheldon said as he pulled his bag off his shoulder and removed his jacket.

After about a half an hour there was a knock on the door. Amy answered the door and Howard was standing there with his son.

"Thanks again for taking him. I should be back in a few hours. There's food, diapers, clothes, and a couple of toys. Call if you need anything," Howard said before handing Marcus and the bag over to Amy.

"Daddy will be back soon. Be good for Aunt Amy and Uncle Sheldon. I love you," Howard said to his son. Then he kissed Marcus and waved goodbye.

As soon as Howard was out of sight, Marcus started crying. "Hey. It's okay. Your daddy will be back soon. It's okay," Amy said as she walked him around the apartment. She kept walking with Marcus, but he kept crying. She tried to distract him with a bottle and some of his toys, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Do you think he's hungry?" Amy asked after a solid twenty minutes of crying.

Sheldon just shrugged. "Even my sister doesn't leave me alone with my nephews. You're the one with all of those cousins."

"Just take him for a minute. I'll get some of his food," Amy said as she handed the baby to Sheldon.

At first, Sheldon just held Marcus at arms length, but after a moment, he pulled the boy to his chest. Sheldon started walking around like Amy had been. When he got to the guest room, he went in. His train was set up on the floor, so Sheldon turned it on. The boy calmed immediately. He went quiet so quickly that Amy came running in.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. We're just watching my train," Sheldon said as he lightly bounced Marcus in his arms. Amy just watched Sheldon for a while. Then Marcus started fussing again.

"I'll go heat up that food," Amy said. She left and warmed up Marcus' dinner. Then she came back to get him. He started crying again in her arms. Normally the little boy liked her, and it was hard not to take the crying personally.

Amy took him to the kitchen and sat him down. He stopped crying again when she put the food in front of him. She tried to feed him, but Marcus kept reaching for the spoon to feed himself. After a few bites, Amy let him have it. His motor skills were not very good, so only about half of the cheesy pasta was actually making it into his mouth. Still, he seemed happy.

Once Marcus was done eating, Amy cleaned him up and changed his diaper. Then they went back to the living room where Sheldon pulled out Marcus' toys. There were some brightly colored plastic toys, but Sheldon just set these aside in favor of a stuffed Superman and Batman.

Amy set Marcus down on the floor and he crawled over to Sheldon. Marcus grabbed the Batman from Sheldon. "Okay. You be Batman. I'll be Superman." Then Sheldon narrated a story of their adventures together. Many of which involved both Batman and Superman getting chewed on by a giant baby. Amy laughed when Marcus made the super heroes hug.

"They fight crime. They don't hug," Sheldon said to Amy.

"The little man says they hug. He makes the rules," Amy said. Then she noticed that Marcus was rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Uh oh. Somebody is a sleepy little man," she added.

"I sure am," Sheldon said.

"Not you," Amy said as she picked Marcus up and took him into their bedroom to change him into his jammies. He was crying again, but she made sure that he brought the Batman with him.

When they came back out, Amy handed him to Sheldon. "Walk with him again. He likes you. Maybe he'll go to sleep."

"He likes you too," Sheldon said as he took the baby. Still, he walked with Marcus around the apartment. Sheldon talked to him softly. He told him about trains as they walked around until Marcus was asleep in Sheldon's arms.

"What do I do with him now?" Sheldon asked.

"We'll put him on our bed," Amy said. "Put him right in the middle so he doesn't fall off. On his back," she said.

Sheldon set Marcus down on the bed and then put his arm around Amy's shoulders as they walked back to the living room. Amy got up to check on Marcus every fifteen minutes or so, but he was still fast asleep each time she went in.

"I would make a terrible mother," Amy said as she sat down next to Sheldon after checking on Marcus again.

"What? You are going to be a wonderful mother," Sheldon said.

"I can't even get that one little boy to like me. He cried every time I held him. He likes you though. He was happy every time you held him," Amy said. Then Marcus started crying from the bedroom. Amy got up to check on him, and after she changed him again, she walked around her bedroom singing to him.

Howard knocked on the door to pick up his son after a few more minutes. Sheldon answered it, and he and Howard walked into the bedroom to collect Marcus. They found Amy singing him a lullaby as she walked slowly. Marcus wasn't sleeping again, but he was quiet.

"Sorry that I'm late. I should have known that everything involving my mother takes longer than I think," Howard said. Then he took Marcus from Amy. The little boy started crying again.

"I know. I know you love your Aunt Amy, but you need to come home with Daddy now," Howard said to his son. "He wasn't too much trouble, was he? Sometimes he gets a little fussy when Bernadette is gone for a couple days. I stay home with the boy all day, but he thinks the sun rises and sets on his mother. Well, I do too, but don't tell her I said that," Howard added with a laugh.

"He was fine. We watched my train for a while, and then we played super heroes," Sheldon said. "I mean, Amy fed him and cleaned him too, but he was more fun to play with than you are."

"Only Sheldon would think a ten month old is more fun than I am," Howard said to Amy. "Well, I can play video games. He doesn't quite have the hand/eye coordination yet," he added to Sheldon.

Amy and Sheldon walked Howard to the door. "Thanks again, you guys. You were a lifesaver today," Howard told them. "Can you say bye bye to Amy and Sheldon?" Howard added to his son. Amy waved goodbye to them both before Howard started down the stairs.

Sheldon smiled at her. "You are going to be a wonderful mother. That little boy was charmed by you."

"He liked you better," Amy said as she tiredly sat on the couch.

"You and I are a team, kid. That's how it's supposed to be. I'm sure there will be days when our children will like me better, and I know there will be a lot of days that they will like you better," Sheldon told her. Then he took a deep breath and said, "I think that maybe you should go to the doctor and talk to them about what we should do to get ready to start trying for a baby. Like, ask about going off of your birth control pills and about diet changes."

Amy just looked at him. She didn't know what to say. He was the one who wanted to not even talk about a baby. "Why now?" she asked after a moment.

"I don't think that we should start actually trying now. I just think we should have as much information as possible. I know that we are only about four months into our compromise, and that we still haven't found a house, but I think it's fair to start preparing. I've been thinking about this for a few days, and I think it's the right move," Sheldon said.

"So this isn't a reaction to having fun playing with Marcus?" Amy asked.

"No. He's a nice kid, but I would definitely put more thought into all of this than that," Sheldon said seriously.

"Okay. I'll all about an appointment on Monday," Amy said.

"Yeah?" Sheldon asked with a smile. Then he leaned over to kiss Amy.


	8. Chapter 8

On Monday Amy made an appointment for the following day with her doctor. She texted Sheldon to let him know.

You are going to need to see if Leonard can drive you home from work tomorrow. I made an appointment. - A

Can I come with? - S

If you want to. - A

Amy thought it was peculiar that Sheldon wanted to come with. He had never been with her to the doctor's, but she wasn't going to stop him.

* * *

The next day, Sheldon showed up at Amy's lab at two. He was ready to go with her to her appointment, so they left together. Sheldon wanted to make sure that he had a handle on this baby thing before they even started. Part of him had been trying to learn that it meant losing control sometimes. Sheldon was sure that would never be easy for him, but he was working towards it. Leaving work early without a week's notice seemed like a way to continue that.

They went into the office and signed in before they sat down. Amy played with Sheldon's hand while they waited. Sheldon looked over at her.

"Are you nervous?" Sheldon asked.

"A little. I want this so badly, but what if it doesn't work out?" Amy told him. She was expressing a fear that had been living in her brain for a while.

"We'll figure it out if we come to it. We aren't even trying yet," Sheldon said.

"Yeah. That's true. We've made it this far," Amy said.

Then they were called to the back. After they weighed Amy and took her blood pressure, they left her with a gown to change into. She changed and then sat on the table and waited for the doctor to come in.

"Hey, guys. What brings you in today?" the doctor asked when he came in.

"Well, we are interested in starting a family, and I guess we just wanted to know what we need to know and do before that can happen," Amy told him.

The doctor looked at the chart. "Okay. Well, according to your chart you are currently taking birth control pills. We recommend at least being off those for at least two months. Some other things that we recommend include cutting back on caffeine and alcohol," he explained. Then he handed them a list of things to do. "I also recommend you start prenatal vitamins now," the doctor said. Then he leaned Amy back so that he could start examining her.

Sheldon held Amy's hand. There was no reason to be particularly nervous, but they both were. "We can run some blood work if you would like, but I don't see any reason you shouldn't be able to conceive," the doctor said with a smile. "However, if you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to come back to see us."

"Yes. We would like the blood work," Sheldon said.

"Go ahead and answer for me. You're the one who doesn't have to get poked with a needle," Amy said.

"Sorry," Sheldon said sheepishly.

"We will take the blood work though. I want to be sure that everything is okay before we do this," Amy said.

"Okay. I'll write the orders. Any other questions?"

"Not that I can think of," Amy said.

"Great. Good luck," the doctor said before he left Amy to get dressed again.

"That wasn't too bad," Sheldon said as they left. He had the orders for Amy's blood work in his hand. They had to go to a different location to get that done, and it required a fast, so Amy was going to do it the next morning before she went into work.

They were almost home when Sheldon's phone started ringing. He looked at his phone, but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello. Dr. Cooper speaking."

"Hi. Dr. Cooper, it's Katherine McConnell. I don't know if you remember me, but you and your wife were interested in purchasing my house about a month ago," the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Oh, of course. The brown house," Sheldon said. Amy turned to look at him. She pulled the car over to try to find out what was going on.

"Yes. Well, I don't know if you are still looking, but we've lowered our asking price, and I wanted to contact you first. Technically, we've lowered it by $20,000, but my husband and I were speaking, and we are willing to drop it another $5,000 if we can close the deal before the holidays. We are going to move at the beginning of January, and it would be great if we had all of this settled before then," Katherine said.

"How long do we have to think about it?" Sheldon asked.

"We can give you two days before we start giving that offer to other people. Derek and I really liked you guys. You really did remind us of ourselves when we were just starting out," Katherine said.

"Let me talk to my wife, and we will get back to you soon," Sheldon said.

"Okay. Have a good day, Dr. Cooper. I hope to hear from you soon," Katherine said.

"Thank you so much for calling," Sheldon said.

Sheldon hung up the phone and turned to Amy. "That was Katherine, the woman who owns the brown house. It seems that if we are willing to buy the house by the holidays, they will bring the price down by $25,000, which is more than I ever hoped. Still, I've been over those numbers again and again, and we still another $10,000 in addition to our loan to make that."

"If we had some more time, we could come up with that," Amy said.

"That's the thing. They are giving us two days to get back to them before they give that offer to other people. Then the price goes up another $5,000 if they still haven't sold it by the holidays," Sheldon said.

"So, best case scenario is that we can come up with $15,000 before they sell it?" Amy asked.

"I guess," Sheldon said.

"I have an idea, but you aren't going to like it," Amy said.

"What is it?" Sheldon asked.

"My parents could probably loan us the $10,000. My mom would probably just hand it over if I told her that we were just at the doctor's office talking about having a kid. No questions," Amy offered.

Sheldon groaned. "I really don't want to borrow that kind of money from your parents."

"Do you have another option? I really want this, Sheldon," Amy said. Then she started the car and finished driving home.

"Let me go over the numbers again," Sheldon said.

"Okay," Amy said. She knew that he hadn't made a mistake and she knew that he wouldn't be able to fix it and make it work. He'd been trying for the last few weeks, and he hadn't had any luck so far. Still, he needed time to think about it. If it were just up to Amy, she would go to her parents, but it hadn't been just up to her since the day she said, "I do."

Sheldon went over those numbers again, but he knew he couldn't make it work. He hated it. Math had always been his friend, but it was failing him. Sheldon didn't know what to do, so he called Leonard.

"Hey, buddy," Leonard said.

"Hello," Sheldon said. "If you could get the house of your dreams, but it required you to go to Penny's parents and ask for a five digit sum of money, would you?"

"I don't know. That's a lot of money," Leonard said.

"The owners of the house that we love lowered the price, but we are still $10,000 short. Amy is sure that her parents will be happy to lend us that, but I don't know if I can do it. What if it makes them believe I'm not suitable for their daughter?" Sheldon said.

"You guys are already married. I don't think they have a lot of say in it. Maybe you should talk to them, and make it clear that it's a loan, not a handout. Or could you go to your own mother? Maybe you would feel more comfortable taking her money," Leonard suggested.

"My mom doesn't have that kind of money easily available. I'm not sure I could take it from her either," Sheldon said.

"Maybe the best way to take care of Amy is to listen to her," Leonard said. "She's a smart woman, and she knows what she's doing. Wouldn't it be better to listen to her and get your dream house by putting your own pride to the side than to just let it go because you are worried about how you'll look?"

"I hate when you're right," Sheldon said.

"I know, but I think I am this time," Leonard said.

"Thanks, Leonard."

"You're welcome. Good luck," Leonard said before hanging up.

"Amy," Sheldon yelled to the bedroom.

"What?"

"Call your parents. We need to talk to them," Sheldon said.

Amy walked out into the living room. She smiled at him and went over to sit on his lap. "Okay," she said as she pulled out her phone.

She dialed the phone and waited. Sheldon had his arms around her waist. "Mother, it's Amy. I was wondering if Sheldon and I could come over tonight. We have a big favor to ask you and Daddy," she said.

"Of course, Amy. Have you two had dinner yet? I'm making meatloaf, and you two are welcome to join us. I'll set a couple more places," Mrs. Fowler said.

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Mother," Amy said. "We'll be there in under an hour."

"Okay, see you soon, dear."

Amy sighed and leaned into Sheldon's chest. "Okay. They are expecting us for dinner. I'm sure this will go just fine," she said.

"The worst they can do is say no. Then we'll be back to hoping that we can raise the money before they sell the house. We are still a lot closer to owning that house than we were yesterday," Sheldon said. He knew he was faking optimism for Amy, but they both needed good things in their lives.

"Change is scary," Amy muttered. "You had it right before. Maybe we should just live like this forever. In this apartment with no children when we are 85."

"No. Don't do this to me. You are the one who pushes us forward," Sheldon said as he pulled Amy closer to him.

"I'm tired of pushing us forward," Amy said.

"Fine. I'll push us forward for a while. First up, we are going to talk to your parents. You're still going to have to drive. Just because I'm going to pretend to be the grown up for a while, doesn't mean I can drive," Sheldon said.

"Okay," Amy said with a smile. "You don't need to pretend to be a grown up. You are one."

"No one has accused me of that before," Sheldon said.

"I've seen you grow up a lot in the last year. You and I are good for each other," Amy said. She curled into Sheldon.

"No. You need to get up. Let's go," Sheldon said.

Amy sighed and got off of Sheldon's lap. He stood up and they left to go to her parents' house. Amy drove, but hesitated after she parked.

"Let's go," Sheldon said as he grabbed her hand. He could play the grown up for a couple of days. It would be worth it if they could get the house.

They went up to the door and were hugged and kissed by Amy's mother. Then they were ushered into sit at the table.

"I hope this is about the pitter patter of little feet," Amy's mother said in a singsong voice.

"Not directly," Amy said. She had been planning to wait until after dinner to ask about the money, but she didn't want to get her mother's hopes up. "We actually have another thing that we would like to get settled first. As you know, we've been looking for a house. Well, we found one. It was perfect and we loved it so much. However, it was more than we could afford, so we kept looking. Only, today we got news that they lowered the price, and it's still a bit too much for us. We...," Amy paused and grabbed Sheldon's hand.

"We need another $10,000 to get it. The price will go up by another $5,000 if we wait until the new year," Sheldon finished.

"And you want the money from us?" Amy's father asked.

"It would be a loan, sir," Sheldon said.

"Why is that exactly?" Mr. Fowler said.

"I'm sorry?" Sheldon asked.

"You two insisted on paying for your own wedding. You haven't let us help you out in anyway," Amy's father said.

"I wanted to prove that I'm capable of taking care of your daughter, sir," Sheldon said.

"Amy's a strong independent woman. She doesn't need you to take care of her that way. However, this is the first time I've seen you humbled enough to ask for help, and I appreciate that, Sheldon."

"You do?" Sheldon asked. He felt relieved that Amy's father wasn't kicking them out. He didn't even realize the implications of what Amy's father was saying.

"Daddy, are you saying that you want to just give us the money?" Amy asked.

"Yes," Mr. Fowler said.

"Don't you need to discuss it?" Amy asked.

Amy's mother shook her head.

"That's it? You are just giving us the money?" Amy asked again.

Sheldon laughed a little. "We didn't even have to tell them that we went to the doctor today," he said.

"Sheldon!" Amy admonished.

"Are you going to have a baby?" Amy's mother squeaked.

"No," Amy said before giving Sheldon a dirty look. "I'm okay. Everything is okay. We just went to the doctor today to see what we should do to start trying," Amy started. "No. Don't look at me like that, Mother," she added when her tears started streaming down her mother's face.

"I'm sorry. I'm just surprised is all. You've been saying that you two aren't ready for so long now," Amy's mother said. "You two are so stubborn, but here you are, asking for help and talking about having a baby."

"Mother, please stop crying," Amy said. She looked at Sheldon for help, but they were both confused. They thought that her parents might lend them the money, but something had taken a left turn and they were both befuddled about what to do next.

"I'm okay, Amy. Let's just get you that check," she said as she got up.

Sheldon just shrugged and kept eating his meatloaf. Amy got up and followed her mother, leaving Sheldon and her father alone at the table.

"This is really good. Does Amy have this recipe? I'll have to make it sometime," Sheldon commented.

Amy's father just laughed. He didn't think he would ever understand his son-in-law, but Mr. Fowler knew that his daughter married a good man.

"Please don't read more into all of this than there is. I still need to be off my birth control pills for a while and as you pointed out, I'm not exactly young. This might take a while," Amy told her mother when they were alone. "And you know Sheldon, he might decide he needs more time tomorrow."

"You don't have to have a baby to please me. I... I just can't believe how grown up you are, Amy. My little girl is so grown up," Amy's mother said as she hugged Amy. "It seems like it was just yesterday that I was bringing you home from the hospital."

"Mother, I'm in my 30s with a doctorate. I've been married for over a year. Why is this the thing that is upsetting you?" Amy asked.

"I'm not upset. I'm just so proud of you. It's all of those things. I've raised a beautiful woman who seemed like she was so wrapped up in her academic pursuits that she wouldn't ever find love. I underestimated you. You've done it all. Maybe not the way I would have, but you have such a beautiful life," Amy's mother said as she sobbed into Amy's shoulder.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I wish I had some great excuse as to why I haven't updated in a while, but I don't. I've just sort of been stuck. I also know this chapter is short, but I wanted to update with something since it's been a while. I'll get back to it. I promise. Thanks for reading.**

* * *

Sheldon and Amy left her parents' home with a check for $10,000 and a plan to call Katherine in the morning after they left the lab. It was a lot of changes at once, which Amy thought would send Sheldon into a complete meltdown, but he was handling everything pretty well.

The next morning, Amy looked at her pills before just taking them out of her purse. "I'm not taking them anymore. I hope you don't mind switching back to condoms," she told Sheldon.

"That's fine," he said with a smile.

"So, you are okay with us moving forward with this?" Amy asked.

"Well, I would like to see what the blood work says, but more or less. I told you that you would get me where you wanted me if you gave me time."

"Okay. Good," Amy said. She wasn't sure that she believed him. He was being too accommodating. It was making her nervous. Still, Amy tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She decided to just go with it for as long as Sheldon would let her. It might hurt later, but she knew that the only way she might get what she wanted was to trust Sheldon. He would never do anything to deliberately hurt her. She knew that without a doubt.

They left early to get to the lab to get blood drawn. Sheldon asked if he could wait in the car while Amy went in. Blood still made him squeamish, and he thought it would be better if his day didn't start with fainting. Amy agreed, so Sheldon stayed in the car. He went over the numbers on the house one more time while he was waiting. Everything still looked good. He smiled to himself that they were going to get the house he wanted.

Amy came back out to the car and got in. "Okay. That's all set," she told Sheldon. "Ready to make that call?" Amy asked after another moment.

Sheldon nodded his head. He took a deep breath and pulled up the number on his phone. He put it on speaker so that Amy could listen in.

"Hello," a woman answered.

"Hello. Mrs. McConnell? It's Sheldon Cooper. I'm calling about the house. My wife and I would like to buy it," Sheldon said.

"Oh. That's wonderful. Let me get you the number of the agent. She'll help you guys with all of the paperwork and stuff. I'm so glad you guys were able to make this work. I can't wait to tell Derek. Sorry. I'm just a little excited. Okay, are you ready for that number?" Katherine asked.

"Yes," Sheldon said. He didn't need a pen. He knew he would remember it. She gave the number, and they exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up. Then Sheldon called the realtor and made an appointment to talk paperwork that night after work.

"We did it!" Amy exclaimed when they hung up the phone.

"Well, we haven't actually done anything yet. We've just talked about doing things. Still, I'm completely and utterly terrified," Sheldon said.

Amy put her head on his shoulder before starting up the car. "You promised you'd be the adult for a while," she told him.

"I am. That doesn't mean I'm not scared. Let's get to work where sweet physics can distract me for a while," Sheldon said.

"You don't think I can distract you?" Amy said with a smile before starting the car.

"I know you can, but I need to work. We're buying a house. We'll need the money," Sheldon said.

* * *

The next few weeks were just a whirlwind of activity for the two. The bank approved their loan, the paperwork was signed, and Sheldon and Amy planned on moving into the house at the first of the year.

"Should we buy a new couch?" Amy asked one night over dinner. They had been deciding how they might want to decorate the new house. It had a lot more space. Plus, Amy hoped to live in a home that looked like it was owned by adults instead of the childish mancave that came with moving in with Sheldon. Sure, it looked better than when Leonard and Sheldon lived together, but it could still use some work.

Sheldon looked personally offended. "How can you even suggest that?"

"Sheldon, I know that you love this couch more than you probably love me, but you guys got it used, like, fifteen years ago. Don't you think we could use an upgrade?" Amy said.

"First, I love you more than the couch. I love you more than my spot. Second, I know that this couch is old, but it's comfortable. I want to move it to the new house," Sheldon said.

"Okay. You've made a lot of sacrifices for me, and I suppose having an old couch in my new living room can be a sacrifice I can make for you," Amy said.

"Thank you, kid," Sheldon said happily before wiggling his butt slightly in his spot. It was safe for now. He knew that it might take some adjustment to find the right place for the couch in new house. He was willing to take that.

They also discussed Christmas. Sheldon had promised his mother that they would come to Texas for the holidays, but with the move, neither of them were sure they would have time.

"My mother isn't going to be pleased if I tell her we aren't coming," Sheldon said.

"I know, but maybe you can tell her that we're trying to have a baby and that we're moving and that she can come visit us in a couple months when we're settled in," Amy suggested. "Those have to be reasonable excuses not go to home, right?"

"We haven't started trying to have a baby yet. That would be lying," Sheldon said.

"It's not lying. I stopped taking my pills, that's the first step," Amy said. Then she worried that she said the wrong thing.

Sheldon looked like he was about to freak out. She could see the panic in his eyes. Amy knew it was too good to be true that Sheldon would be okay with them having children. He'd been okay with the doctor's appointment, the blood tests that came back fine, and her telling him that she wasn't going to take the pills anymore. Then he closed his eyes, took a few breaths.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked.

"Of course," Sheldon said. "Why wouldn't I be?" He hated that she had spotted how scared he was, but he decided to just play it off. "I'm going to go call my mom to tell her we can't make it."

"Okay," Amy said with a smile. Then she added, "We can talk about anything. You know that, right?"

"Of course," Sheldon said again. "When have I ever been shy about saying how I feel?"

Amy watched as Sheldon went into the bedroom to call his mother. "Whenever it comes to me," she muttered to herself. Her Sheldon was bold and take charge, but emotions were never his forte. They hadn't really been her strong suit either, but she had gotten better at it since meeting Sheldon. It wasn't uncommon for Sheldon to hide the way he felt, and Amy knew he was getting better. It was still a struggle sometimes.


	10. Chapter 10

Amy and Bernadette were at lunch with Penny planning her baby shower. Bernadette was giving Penny advice about what was the most useful things to register for. Amy was writing things down to keep track so that Penny wouldn't forget.

"My mom is coming to visiting for a week at the beginning of next month. Then she'll go home until Noah is born. Then she is going to come back for a couple of weeks. I'd like to do the shower when she's—oh," Penny said as she grabbed her belly.

Amy sat up straighter. "Are you okay?" Amy asked.

Penny smiled. "Yeah. He's just kicking me a little bit. Wanna feel?"

Amy wasn't sure what to do. For some reason, Amy had never felt Marcus kick. "Uh, sure," Amy said tentatively. She slowly reached her hand out toward Penny. Penny took Amy's hand and placed it to where the baby was kicking. Amy felt the movement under her hand.

"Oh, wow," Amy said with a smile. "Thank you," Amy added as she pulled her hand away. She felt a little of her sadness return, but as usual, she cut it off before it could show on her face. Amy was very excited to meet her godson, so she focused on that instead.

"No problem. A little birdy told me that you and Sheldon are next," Penny said.

"Sheldon told you that?" Amy asked.

"Technically, Sheldon told Leonard. Was it supposed to be a secret?"

"No. It's just that he'll barely talk to me about it. I even offered to go back on the pill and wait until we moved before discussing it again. He teared up and refused my offer," Amy said.

"He's just scared. He said that he's afraid of failing you," Penny said.

"I just wish he would talk to me about it," Amy said.

"We can get Howard and Leonard to talk to him," Bernadette offered.

"It sounds like he is already doing that," Amy said with a sigh.

"So, switching topics. Are you going to volunteer your beautiful new house to host my baby shower?" Penny asked.

"We'll barely be moved in at the beginning of next month," Amy said.

"Sweetie, I was teasing you. I am not looking forward to cleaning my house to have all of these people over," Penny said.

"Oh. I suppose I can spare my husband for one day to help you with that, even with the move. If I ask him what his mother would think if he let a pregnant woman do all that cleaning, he will rush right over. He'll do a good job," Amy offered.

"Thanks, sweetie," Penny said.

* * *

As if there wasn't enough going on in their lives, the holidays were also coming up. Sheldon wanted to ignore Christmas, but Amy insisted. In fact, they were going to spend Christmas Eve with their friends and Christmas Day with Amy's parents.

"I don't want to go shopping. Maybe we can just get everyone a fruit of the month club," Amy suggested as she and Sheldon lounged on the couch together.

"Or we ignore Christmas, get some Chinese food, and stay in," Sheldon said. He pushed Amy's hair off her shoulder and put his lips to her neck.

"I'm onto your game. You always start kissing my neck when you try to talk me into something," Amy said.

It's quite effective. I am sixty-three percent more likely to get my way if I use this approach," Sheldon said into Amy's neck.

"It's not going to work this time," Amy said.

Sheldon didn't stop or even slow. "That's okay. I like doing it anyway," he told her as he pulled her into his lap.

"Good," Amy said. She tilted her head to give him better access. "You know, we've been married for over a year, and there are so many places in this apartment where we haven't had sex. We're running out of time."

"We have a very good bedroom, and a good shower. Why do we need to leave our mark everywhere?" Sheldon asked.

"For fun. I recall you once telling me that you wanted to make love in your spot. We haven't even done that. In a couple weeks, we'll still have your couch, but it will be somewhere else. You are wasting your opportunity to have your way with me right in this place," Amy said.

"My God, you're right. Take off your clothes. I'll go get a condom," Sheldon said as he dumped Amy out of his lap and went to the bedroom.

When he returned to the living room, Sheldon found Amy sitting in his spot without any clothes on.

"Up," Sheldon commanded before sitting down in his spot. Then he pat his legs for Amy to retake her spot on his lap.

Later, after they were dressed again, Amy said, "We still didn't decide what to get everyone for Christmas."

"I know. We can have sex again and ignore that train of thought," Sheldon said with a smile.

"You can't avoid talking about everything," Amy argued.

"I don't avoid talking about things," Sheldon countered. He thought he had become very open with Amy. They always talked a lot.

"You won't talk to me about children. You'll talk to Leonard about it, but you won't talk to me," Amy said.

"Leonard understands my fears of emulating my father. You are going to be a wonderfully caring mother. I know that you are going to do this very well. I couldn't even contemplate this with a partner any less capable than you. However, that means that you don't understand how afraid I am that I'm going to fail you. Leonard understands that," Sheldon said.

"I understand more than you think. You don't have to talk to me about everything, but please keep me in the loop," Amy said.

"You're always in the loop. I haven't changed my mind about children. I still want them with you so much. I haven't changed my mind about the house. Now, I should probably sanitize the couch," Sheldon said.

* * *

Sheldon and Amy survived Christmas. Amy gave more gift cards than she would have liked, but at least the shopping had been easy for both her friends and parents. Plus, gifts sent off to the Cooper clan via the internet. Amy wondered why they agreed to move so close to the new year.

In fact, a few days after the new year, Amy was staring at the boxes packed and ready to be moved in her and Sheldon's bedroom. She was feeling pretty emotional about it. This was the place where they had first told each other that they loved each other, where he had first kissed her, where they first made love. Now they were about to spend their last night in apartment 4A of 2311 Los Robles.

"Is it too late to decide to stay?" Amy asked.

"I think it is. You probably should have said something before," Sheldon said. He was just teasing his wife. He knew that Amy really wanted this. She was just nervous and nostalgic.

Then Sheldon pulled Amy up by her hands and pulled her out into the living room. "Anything you ever wanted to do before we leave?"

Amy thought about it. "Um. I want to dance with you," she said.

Sheldon sighed. "I was thinking more along the lines of going up to the roof and looking at the sky."

"We can do that too, but I'd love to dance with you here. Just once before we don't live here anymore," Amy said. "This was your idea, babe."

"Fine. May I have the pleasure of this dance?" Sheldon asked as he offered his hand to her.

"You may," Amy said. She turned on her iPod and gave Sheldon her hand.

Sheldon pulled her close and put his hand on her hip. The song was faster than their dance, but Sheldon led Amy in a slow circle around their packed up living room.


End file.
